Disrespect and Abuse in Abortion Care: A Systematic Review Open Access

Abstract

Disrespect and abuse during facility-based abortion and postabortion care manifests through various forms including disrespect, abuse (physical, verbal, and/or sexual), stigma, neglect, breaches in privacy/confidentiality, discrimination, misinformation or a lack of information, procedures without consent, humiliation, condescension, mistreatment, undignified care, and/or protests. These are direct violations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was adopted in 1979 and states that all parties must “eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care...including those related to family planning” (UN General Assembly, 1979). Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) releasing an official statement on the importance of preventing disrespect and abuse during childbirth, there is still little research on the prevalence and impacts of this form of discrimination and violence against women (World Health Organization, 2014). There is even less research on the forms of disrespect and abuse against women during abortion care when compared to research on women during childbirth. To prevent and eliminate disrespect and abuse in sexual and reproductive health care, we must understand the global impact of this issue for obstetric, contraceptive, and abortion care. This review synthesizes existing evidence of women’s experiences of disrespect and abuse during abortion and postabortion care to better understand the scope of this issue and to add to existing literature. 

Table of Contents

Introductory Pages

Distribution Agreement...................................................................................................................1

Thesis Committee Approval Form...................................................................................................2

Abstract Title Page..........................................................................................................................3

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................4

Thesis Title Page.............................................................................................................................5

Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................6

           

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................8

Methods..........................................................................................................................................14 Results............................................................................................................................................17 Discussion......................................................................................................................................33

Limitations.....................................................................................................................................40

Conclusions....................................................................................................................................41

References......................................................................................................................................42

Appendix

Table 1...........................................................................................................................................57

Table 2 ..........................................................................................................................................58

Table 3...........................................................................................................................................59

Table 4...........................................................................................................................................66 

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	Abortion Disrespect and Abuse Sexual and Reproductive Health Obstetric Violence
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Lauren Maxwell, PhD, MPH, Emory University

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